Since registering its first novel coronavirus case on March 11, Turkey has for the first time imposed a nationwide lockdown for a four-day period corresponding to the Eid al-Fitr holiday in an attempt to mitigate the spread of the virus.
The curfew came into effect across Turkey’s 81 provinces at midnight on Friday, a day before Eid, which marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
According to an announcement from Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, there were a total of 155,686 coronavirus cases and 4,308 deaths caused by the virus in the country as of Saturday.
Turkey has not implemented a full lockdown, and curfews have so far been imposed first in 31 then in 15 major cities only on weekends. People aged 65 and over as well as those 20 and under are prohibited from going outside as part of measures to contain the epidemic.